A presently popular peripheral input device, known as a mouse, has a casing with an ergonomically contoured top which is designed to be gripped by a user's hand and which provides one or more clicker buttons for engagement with the fingers of the operator's hand. A roller ball detection device is located within the flat bottom of the mouse for detecting relative motion of the mouse when it is moved by the user with respect to a substantially flat surface. Typically, the mouse is connected by a cable to a computer device and an array of sensors within the mouse detect relative rolling contact of the ball with a desk or other surface such that a relative pointing motion is provided in two dimensions and displayed on the computer screen. In other words, motion of the mouse produces relative motion of a screen element depicted as a mouse pointer, displayed on the computer screen and whose location changes as the operator moves the mouse along the surface. In such a case, placement of a mouse on a surface does not provide a direct one-to-one mapping with a specific computer screen location. In order to select items on a computer screen, the user presses the clicker button, which produces a "mouse click", and selects the relative location on the computer screen where the mouse pointer is then located. In typical applications, the mouse pointer can be toggled between a text mode and a graphical mode such that, in the text mode, the mouse pointer is presented as a vertical rectangle (or block cursor) and in the graphical mode the mouse pointer appears as a hot spot (or arrow pointer). In the graphical mode, a computer program uses the hot spot to determine location of the pointer when the user depresses the clicker button.
Such traditional mouse peripheral devices only provide for two-dimensional relative directional detection which generally corresponds with the two-dimensional computer display screen. A recent need has arisen to develop enhanced 3-D computer peripheral control devices for use with highly active computer graphics, for example video games and advanced modeling software.
One recent attempt to produce a 3-D computer peripheral control device provides for a stationary mouse-like device mounted atop the familiar joystick. This device more specifically has a fixed base that supports a rotating and articulating post, the top of which is a mouse-shaped head provided with three clicker-buttons. The post and head are pivotally tilted relative to the base to provide for pitch, yaw, and roll, as well as translation in the X, Y and Z directions. True vertical motion is approximated by pulling up or pushing down on the head which, when in a biased mode, produces corresponding vertical motion on the computer device. Such a system is presently available under the name CyberMan.TM. sold by Logitech of 6505 Kaiser Drive, Fremont, Calif. Such a device, however, does not produce what is herein referred to as "intuit" user hand motions. Such which require the user to articulate their hand, while engaged with the input device, through a range of tactile motions which closely correspond to the motions of the mouse pointer in three-dimensional space as is commonly required and visualized when using newer and more complex computer software programs.
Another attempt to develop a three-dimensional mouse is disclosed in Wislocki, U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,670. This patent discloses a device which utilizes a traditional ball-type mouse arrangement wherein sensors measure ball rotation relative to first and second perpendicular axes. A collar is also provided about the ball's periphery for sensing motion along a third perpendicular axis. Like the previously mentioned system, this device does not allow for tactile or intuitive motion by an operator's hand such that it mimics the 3-D cursor motion within a computer memory. It further does not provide a realistic interactive feel. As a result, the operator must roll the ball to produce an unnatural planar motion in the X and Y directions, and must further rotate a cap collar about the ball to produce vertical, Z direction motion of a mouse pointer.
Obviously, such a system of operation does not produce fluent and instinctive operator motion of the mouse when interacting with a three-dimensional software program. Particularly, such a system is unnatural and awkward and slows down operator response, especially when playing computer games which require fast and instinctive motions.
Additional attempts have been made to create a better mouse. Like the above systems, these to have had their limitations and drawbacks.
In Lince, United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2,198,216A discloses a digital video effect unit in which a control knob is mounted on the end of two connected arms, the first being pivotally and rotatably mounted to a base and the second being pivotally connected to the end of the first. The control knob can be rotated and sensors are provided to provide four output signals indicative of the relative angular positions of the knob, both arms and the base. By further providing the control knob with a track or roller ball, two additional movements can be correlated. As seen from this construction, a full intuitive range of motion is not possible because the linkage can "seize" and therefore itself limits movement. Additionally the provision of the track ball carries with it all of the limitations with respect to intuitive movement as further described above.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,356 to Chuang disclose a modified joystick which includes stepper motors that vary the resistance to movement felt in the joystick.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,355 to Mitch also discloses a modified joystick which allows for greater movement of the joystick. It is however closely analogous to previous track balls in its manner of operation and its inability to physically provide the user with an intuitive hand motion through 3-D space.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,350,956 to Monge, merely discloses a device with six degrees of freedom for one-handed control of a vehicle moving through a fluid. Motion of the device is limited to narrow ranges and it is not intended to provide simulated 3-D movement of a point in space.
McAffe et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,963, describes a universal input device intended to interface a human operator with a robot. The device has links extending from a base and connected by rotary joints in an attempt to mechanically decouple motion in all six degrees of freedom while providing a better overlap of human operator's range of motion.
Further attempts have been made to develop computerized motion control peripheral devices, namely for detecting locations in three-dimensional space to obtain highly accurate digitized positional information. Such systems are presently used in combination with accurate positional reference beds when performing engineering development or prototype work in order to accurately dimension engineered products especially when assembling a device from a series of joined together parts which might otherwise produce accumulation error during assembly.
Therefore, a need presently exists to develop a low-cost computer input device which more closely conforms to intuitive human hand motion when producing three-dimensional translation and rotation within a bounded volume in a computer memory. A computer operator might then more naturally articulate a mouse pointer when playing a game or interacting with 3-D computer software.